I have just learned a very important lesson about the timing of vacation.
Per my earlier posts, I just took an entire week off to visit my family. Aside from wrapping up a few personal-work-things -- which I knocked out within the first couple days of my vacay -- I completely disconnected the entire time I was home. I got back from vacation just in time to come into the office for one day, which I spent getting caught up on email, connecting some loose ends, getting the ball rolling on getting up to speed on what I'd missed, and indulging in the (now) luxury of planning for the week ahead. And then ... BAM! Three-day holiday weekend.
It's like the day back in the office was a mere breath of fresh air to fill my lungs so I can hit the ground running on Monday. And the holiday-weekend? It's like the vacation never stopped. I don't know what day it is, what time it is. Just like when I was on my actual vacation, I'm spending the days lounging (often by the pool), reading and napping. Oh, and tackling some very satisfying projects around the apartment that had been forced to the backburner for a while.
(sigh) This is so, so nice. I think I'll plan my summer vacation this way every year. I'm blissfully relaxed.
Disclaimer: This whole scenario is only made possible by the fact that I have an amazing team of people at work who do a tremendous job, whether I'm around or not.
Very carefully.
In the past, I've had a porch or a yard or some area outside where I could tackle such dirty deeds as re-potting a plant. You dive in, do what you need to do and then leave it to the rain (or a hose) to wash away the mess.
But over the past three years, I've learned a lot about living in the much more limiting space of an apartment. Must be more concious about the volume of music and TV (respecting neighbors on all sides). Must not vacuum too late at night (respecting neighbors below). Must not run garbage disposal too late at night (respecting neighbors below). Etc., etc.
So when it came to re-potting the plant my mom gave me on the first day of my "real world" job (which still employees me today), I had to give it some thought to figure out how I could feasibly do this within the confines of my apartment -- without making a tremendous mess. The first time I re-potted it, I took everything down to the building's loading dock. Which was such a pain. Decided to not do that again. Surely, if I just prepared a little bit and was fairly careful, I could do this on my hardwood kitchen floor without making a huge mess:
Success! It was fairly easy to clean up. Dumped the old dirt into a garbage bag, folded up the paper sack I'd laid out to catch the dirt and added it to the garbage bag -- down the trash chute it went. Rinsed out the old pot, vacuumed up the stray traces of dirt on the floor -- all done! And my, my, the plant looks a lot better:
I hope that re-potting it will also help the plant be a little healthier. May be wishful thinking to hope that it "thrives." Don't know that I have that kind of magic in me. I'll settle for the poor thing just staying alive ... as I've miraculously managed thus far.
Admittedly, I'm slowly but surely learning more about plant care. So if this thing can live for long enough for me to learn more, we may just get to that lofty goal of "thriving." So far, I've learned the importance of "feeding" the plant and of re-potting it periodically. (Who knew it needed nutrients, and that you can't just plant it in a pot it once and forget about it?) Still trying to nail down the whole watering thing. (Seriously, after three years ... I still don't feel like I have that quite right.)
Maybe it would help if I gave it a name. I think "Roger" would be appropriate.
I'm back in DC. Just posted a few more pictures, and I'm about to falllll asleeeeep. But here are a few quick stories from the trip.
First of all, I LOVED swimming and going to the beach with Ben. He is absolutely fearless around the water. I had already heard of his adventures in the pool: he loves to jump into the water from the side of the pool and even the diving board, loves to be thrown and dunked, and even puts his face in the water and holds his breath for several seconds. But none of us knew what to expect in terms of how he would take to the ocean. Uh. He loved it. Absolutely loved it. When we first got there, I was left on the beach with him by myself while my sister went back to the car for a few things. Naturally, that's when he decided to make a friend (a few years older than him, and --of course -- better able to steady himself in the waves) and Ben wanted to do exactly what that little boy did -- run straight out into the ocean and start jumping waves. Ahhh ... Aunt Erin, in the meantime, is left scrambling to hold on to fearless Mister Ben ... praying that nothing happens to him while his momma has stepped away. (Good LORD, that was a scary -- but fun -- couple of minutes until she returned.) Anyway, the only downside to Ben's exuberance around the water was the fact that he hadn't quite figured out the whole shut-your-eyes-under-water thing. So the saltwater was stinging his eyes, and we had to cut ocean time a little short. Lesson learned, though: next time, we'll bring Ben some goggles.
We headed to Demopolis on Sunday, and I really enjoyed my time there. Went to Tuscaloosa for some shopping and lunch on Monday with my mom (got some fabulous shoes, among other great finds). And then Janie -- my best friend from college -- came to Demopolis for a visit on Tuesday. We had the best time! We went on a mini tour of Demopolis (took all of 15 min ... hee hee), and headed out to Jesse's parents' house to spend some pool time with Andrea and Ben. When we arrived, we stumbled upon a little bird, who we promptly named "Twitter." (story below the pic)
while janie was visiting me in demopolis, we came across this little baby mocking bird. he seemed pretty abandoned (and it was really hot) so we scooped him up and "rescued" him. he was a pretty happy little fella. loved soggy dog food (easy to keep happy). once back in birmingham, janie dropped him off with a vet -- an avian specialist -- that her mom knows. i'm sure he'll be strong enough to fly off on his own in a week or so.
So Twitter added an exciting little twist to the trip! We capped off the visit with a wonderful (BIG) dinner with all of our Demopolis family. It was so nice to have everyone over and visit with folks. I think Aunt Mary and Ben -- and everyone, really -- got a kick out of our little birdie friend. And Ben and I played guitar for everyone at one point. (I think Andrea has some pictures of that she'll be able to share later.) Speaking of pictures, here is the entire album from my camera. I didn't take a ton this trip. But the memories more than make up for it. :)
